Wednesday, July 9, 2014

The EPA claims the to unilaterally garnish your wages for violating their rules...

The Environmental Protection Agency has quietly claimed
that it has the authority to unilaterally garnish the wages of
individuals who have been accused of violating its rules.
According to The Washington Times, the agency announced the plan to
enhance its purview last week in a notice in the Federal Register. The
notice claimed that federal law allows the EPA to “garnish non-Federal
wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without
first obtaining a court order.”
The notice went on to say that the EPA had fast-tracked the new rule,
enabling it to take effect September 2 unless the agency receives
enough adverse public comments by August 1. The EPA said the rule was
not subject to review because it was not a “significant regulatory
action.”The EPA has claimed this new authority by citing the Debt Collection
Improvement Act of 1996, which gives all federal agencies the power to
conduct administrative wage garnishment, provided that the agency allows
for hearings at which debtors to challenge the amount or the terms of
repayment schedule.
In response to the report, an EPA spokeswoman also pointed to a
Department of Treasury rule from 2011 outlining debt collection for
various agencies including the EPA.
“Administrative Wage Garnishment (AWG) would apply only after EPA
attempts to collect delinquent debts and after Treasury attempts to
collect delinquent debts through other means,” the spokeswoman told
FoxNews.com. The spokeswoman added that the agency would provide notice
“prior to any action,” giving the debtor the opportunity to “review,
contest or enter into a repayment agreement.”